These will be random thoughts about birds, birders, birdwatching, feeders, reptiles, wildflowers and nature in general. I will specifically discuss conservation interests, and other things as the mood hits me.
The topics will probably lean a bit towards of interest to Iowa, as that is where I live.

Monday, October 13, 2008

12 October 2008: Little Known Local Preserves

Today’s trip was to 5 under-appreciated gems in the northern and eastern Johnson County. Every place we visited was north of I-80 and E of the Iowa R. As the sparrow flies they range from ten mile N of Iowa City to 5.5 mile ENE of town. To get to all of them took 60-70 road miles. We did not visit any place for very long, but spent enough time at each to get an idea of what they are like.

N.B. Rather than wrestle w blogger, I wil now post most of my photos at

We started at two small postage-stamp prairie preserves, above Lake Macbride.

Solon Prairie [3 acre, Johnson County Conservation Commission] has become practically surrounded by Solon. When you look at the sign, you can look across the prairie and see houses. With just walking on the perimeter path, we saw a number of interesting things both. Red-winged Blackbirds were still singing at Solon, and the first warbler of the day, Palm Warbler, was working over some saplings. Prairies this small and ones this close to residential areas are very difficult to manage.

Our next stop was Strub Prairie [1.5 acre, Johnson County Heritage Trust]. Strub was formerly known as Propane Pr as it was by a propane storage tank. We did not see as many birds here, but more interesting plants and butterflies.The next two places we visited were larger JCHT Preserves that touch the Corps of Engineers lands bordering the Coralville Reservoir. The Big Grove Preserve [40 ac] is one of the remaining portions of the Big Grove described by the first land surveyors in Johnson County. We did not get into the part of this preserve with the more mature trees, still we spent time trying to get good looks at a Winter Wren that was playing mouse in some piles of cut branches. We spent so much time trying unsuccessfully to get a good look at this bird that we decided to move on.

Just short distance away, we visited Turkey Creek Preserve [110 ac]. Although Turkey Creek is mostly woods, we spend our time on the edge of some prairies and some creeks. Many Cedar Waxwings, Yellow-rumped Warblers and Robins and one Hermit Thrush were enjoying some of the berries [Poison Ivy, Virginia Creeper, and others]. A Belted Kingfisher rattled in Turkey Creek.

We finished at Hora Woods [20 ac], a small woodland. We caught the day’s second Hermit Thrush and a few other birds as we dodged the falling walnuts and hickories. A member of the bird club was cutting wood nearby, saw us go past and stopped to visit. He told us that Mrs. Mabel Hora, who donated the property and for whom it is named was his seventh grade math teacher. Preserves so small as this make it almost impossible to avoid seeing the ubiquitous corn or beans.

As we were looking more at the place and less at the birds, our bird list is short -- thirty plus all told.

About Me

I am an Iowa Birdwatcher. The photo is of my brother and me [on the right], in Yellowstone on a NWF Wolf Trip in 2001. I enjoy watching birds and thinking about what they are doing. Although I maintain lists, I could not tell you what my life, ABA area, Iowa, or even my yard list numbers without looking. I was born in Baltimore, MD in the late 40s. Some of my earliest memories are watching birds with my mother. In junior high, my mother & I took a walk in the woods behind our house for a Biology project. I do remember that my teacher did not believe we had seen everything we listed. My education consists of an undergraduate degree, with a major in Biology, from a place that used to be called Western Maryland College. I have Master’s Degree in Biology from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. I studied Drosopohila population genetics, after an attempt to do the same on colonial nesting herons failed. After this I moved to Iowa, attended the University of Iowa and studied yeast molecular biology. Since leaving school, I have mostly been employed as a microbiologist.